Colourful Clothing- The Use of Green

This is set to be my final post on the use of colour in clothing, though as I have enjoyed the research for these posts so much- I suspect it won’t be long before I revisit the topic. This week, I am looking at green- a colour I found surprisingly difficult to research, as unlike white and purple, very few people have expressly studied green clothing.

Problems researching green clothing start in Antiquity. The Egyptians associated the colour with fertility, possibly as it was the colour of plants growing alongside the Nile, and some goddesses are depicted wearing green. Nevertheless, it was certainly less popular, and less symbolic, than white or blue. There is also a distinct lack of green clothing in Ancient Greek writings,  namely because the Ancient Greeks did not have a word that clearly translates as green, often associating the colour with shades of blue, black or yellow. This trend continues into Ancient Rome. White and Red were the official colours worn by citizens, though it is worn noting that the Latins at least had a word which referred to the colour! When we do hear about green clothes in Rome, it tends to be a negative context. Green dyes often came to Rome from the East, and was therefore associated with extravagance. The infamous Emperor Nero is recorded as wearing green too often, and in Natural History Pliny the Elder is critical of those who wear the colour.

Late Egyptian Wall Art Depicting a Goddess in Green

Despite the negative connotations of green in the Roman Empire, the colour became quite popular in the early medieval era. Green dyes, along with grey and brown ones, were often cheap, and it was a colour generally worn by the lower classes. Nevertheless, jewel bright greens do appear in Late Antique and medieval art representing the wealthy. At Ravenna, a medieval mosaic depicts one of the three Magi visiting Christ in a green cloak. Perhaps the most important innovation in green clothing in this era was the ruling of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) regarding clerical clothing. Pope Innocent followed a theory of colour initially promoted by Aristotle, where green was a ‘middle-colour’ between dark and light. Therefore, it was adopted as a ‘middle—colour’ of priest’s robes, the first time green was ever officially included in a cleric’s wardrobe. Pope Innocent said it should be worn for any festival where the more traditional colours of red and white were not already being used. Therefore green robes became one of the more common types of religious Garment in the late medieval period.

The Three Magi at Ravenna, one of whom wears a Green Cloak

It is also possible to trace green in renaissance clothing. At the end of the 15^th Century, Isabella and Beatrice D’Este, two aristocratic sisters in Italy, dressed their maids in green for May celebrations. The colour was still worn by all social classes. One Noblemen from 1480 is recorded as offering his maids one green, and one brown dress as part of their dowries. Perhaps an even stronger testament to equality of the colours use, is that while purple and gold are both listed in the Elizabethan sumptuary laws, green is not, indicating that it could be worn by any social class.

There is also plenty of evidence for the use of green in Clothing in the 18^th and 19^th Centuries. The V&A contains many examples of expensive male and female clothing in bright emerald green, or with a green print. Furthermore, the Ladies Home Magazine from 1857 lists several different examples of Green bonnets, ribbons and other forms of clothing. However, again green was worn by people regardless of social class. In 1867, the author James Greenwood described the colourful hats worn by labourers on the railways, and perhaps unsurprisingly at this point, green was one of them.

Male and Female Clothing from the V&A, both of which Feature Green!

Green is certainly not my favourite colour, so I was unsure what to expect when I started researching it, or if I would even find it that interesting. As I said at the start of this post- I found it difficult to research. The colour has been used so often, and is so common, few people write about it. However, I think this is what I find interesting about green. Unlike other colours, it’s simple and ‘middling’ nature, means it has been worn by almost everyone for the last 1500 years.

-Rachael

Pastoureau, M. 2014. Green: The History of a Colour

Condra, J. 2008. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through World History, Vol. 2

Perrot, P. 1994. Fashioning the Bourgeoisie: A History of Clothing in the 19^th Century

Gage, J. 1999. Colour and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction

Ladies Home Magazine. 1857. Vol 10.

Richmond, V. 2013. Clothing the Poor in 19^th Century England.